Jamestown nonprofits awarded grant money

The Rhode Island Foundation’s Newport County Fund has announced grants to three Jamestown-based nonprofit organizations. The grants are supported through two special funds established to benefit Jamestown residents, the Jamestown Community Fund and the Jamestown Fund for the Performing Arts.

The Jamestown Community Fund was established in 2001 at the Rhode Island Foundation by Jamestown residents Joseph and Nancy Logan and has distributed more than $40,000. The Jamestown Fund for the Performing Arts was established in 1983 as a field-of-interest fund within the foundation to benefit the performing arts in Jamestown. Since 1983, the fund has awarded 35 grants totaling $26,613.

The Newport County Fund announced a total of $110,144 in small grants to Newport Countybased nonprofit organizations that have proposed projects where a relatively small amount of money can be of strategic assistance. NCF grants will help 16 Newport County-based nonprofits develop, strengthen and expand new and existing community programs that are addressing issues of importance to local residents. NCF was established as a permanent endowment of the Rhode Island Foundation in 2002 to benefit the communities of Newport County – Jamestown, Little Compton, Middletown, Newport, Portsmouth and Tiverton. Guided by a volunteer advisory committee of Newport County residents, the NCF is the first foundation-established fund with a geographic focus. NCF grants serve to supplement, not replace, the Rhode Island Foundation’s statewide grant-making programs.

“The Newport County Fund continues to make strategic investments in local nonprofits working to address urgent community issues,” said Neil D. Steinberg, president and CEO of the Rhode Island Foundation. “The small grants program has been tremendously successful as evidenced by the quality and volume of applications. We’ve seen some fantastic results from these grants and I applaud these sixteen nonprofits for their efforts to do so much for the people of Newport County with a little bit of help from the Newport County Fund.”

Since 2002, the NCF alone has granted more than $2 million to Newport County nonprofit organizations. The three Jamestown grants are:

Jamestown Education Foundation ($2,160): This grant will support the expansion of an after school music instruction program for strings for K-5 students in Jamestown.

Jamestown Community Chorus ($1,669): This grant will provide partial support for performers’ fees to add orchestral accompaniment to the rehearsals and public performances of the Jamestown Community Chorus December concert program.

Jamestown Community Chorus as fiscal agent for Jamestown community piano association ($1,665): This grant will support the 2011-2012 Jamestown Community Piano Association Concert Series.